The Future Looks Bright
by PuniPuni-Chii
Summary: Takes place 6 years after my story A Compromising Position! This is my first AU type of story so bear with me plz!
1. Chapter 1

Im back! Working on the nest chapter but.. sorry for the short chapter...(so lazy). Hope ya like this AU! Takes place 6 years after my other story A Compromising Position! so this is like a sequel! god let me shut up now XD.

Hope ya enjoy it!

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Ugh... Waking up had been a miserable undertaking lately and today was no different. From the moment I opened my eyes my head was swimming and my stomach contents seemed to want to make a hasty exit each time I moved. I groaned in discomfort and rolled over to ask my husband for help, but it seemed that he was already awake. 'That's strange.' I thought to myself 'He usually waits for me...'. When I looked over at the clock it already read 11am. Ugh...I'd been getting up later the last few days. This isn't good for work. I needed to get myself together. I sat up to try and get dressed and...ugh...I couldn't do it. I had to make it to a safe place in time. I couldn't throw up on the floor again...

"Ah hell! How am I s'pose to get this shit done by myself?" Shinji grumbled and cursed over the mountain of work he had before him in the kitchen. There was a huge order to fill and he was going to need help to get it finished in time. The Kirijo Group was having a big conference and instead of using their own personal chefs for the occasion, Mitsuru had requested that her old friends cater the event. She paid top dollar, so Shinji certainly hadn't turned her down. He deftly sorted through the ingredients before him, packaging and storing the already finished dishes to get them out of the way so he could work more clearly. This was our first customer and Mitsuru must have had a lot of faith in her former teammates because it sure was a huge order for just two people to complete. If we managed to satisfy the Kirijo Group and actually pull this off though, the possibilities were endless after that. Cooking dinner for friends was one thing, but this order could make or break the business. Shinji and I had a lot riding on this, but to get it done right he needed my help. He'd said on many occasions that I was the only other person he knew who wasn't an utter disaster in the kitchen. He said it was what made him decide to finally "settle down" in the end.

After what happened six years ago when he'd nearly lost not only me (his first love) but also himself, he finally decided to stop living in he shadows of the past and do something with his life. He had still been unclear as to what exactly he wanted to do, but once he got out of the hospital for those damned pills, I was there to help him find his purpose. He worked up the guts to propose and within a year we decided to start a small catering business together someday, him and I. Despite how much he complained from time to time, however, he wouldn't have things any other way. It was a good change of pace for him not to be a deadbeat punk anymore with nothing to live for. "Hey! Wake up and get over here! I'm gonna need a hand with this, you know?" He shouted down the hall towards our room. "Minako, where-"

I slammed my way through the bedroom door and dashed across the hall, just barely making it into the bathroom in time. I had to stop doing this. The sickness brought tears to my eyes. I felt miserable. Lately it seemed I'd been hugging the toilet more than my own husband...

"Hey. You alright?" Shinji appeared in the open doorway, concern and care showing all over his flour-covered face.

I couldn't stand to have him see me like this. I was always the strong one, the fighter, the one who never let anyone down for anything, and here I was a disgustingly weak mess on the bathroom floor. I tried to wave him away while hiding my face in shame."I...I'll be fine in a few-" I couldn't even finish telling him before I got sick again. He knelt down next to me, holding my long hair safely out of the way and comforting me with a gentle rub on the back. His tough exterior was all just an act; he always knew how to make me feel better.

"Come on , just let it all out. I gotcha." He held me there in comfort for a few minutes longer until I'd worked through the sickness and finally began to regained my presence of mind. The same routine as the last few days; it only lasts a little while before I'm able to go about my day again. Frankly, I was starting to get tired of it, but it's not like I had much choice in the matter.

"I'm fine now, hun. Thanks." I eagerly guzzled down the glass of water I was handed, wiping my face clean and getting up off the floor with a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry for letting you down, Shinji." I apologized as I smiled weakly at him. "It's Mitsuru's order we've got today, isn't it? Man...I'm really sorry. I just haven't been able to shake this damned flu..." I stood in front of the mirror looking at myself and wondering how I could be so stupid. Deep down I had a feeling what was going on, but I was just too scared to admit it to myself. We still had so much left to do and I didn't want to mess things up. Even though we'd been married for four years, I wasn't quite sure how Shinji would react to such a thing. Hell, I barely new what to do with it myself right then.

Shinji walked across the hall into our room and grabbed my clothes from the closet. "There's no shittin' me here, Minako." He chuckled as he tossed me a button up shirt and my favorite jeans. Even after all this time, I still felt a flutter inside when I heard him laugh. He was a tough person to get to open up, but being through what we'd been through can sure change a person. "You learn enough having been out on the streets to know what's going on here. It's my fault too. But yeah..." He smiled gently, giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I'll take you to the doctor when we're done, okay? Now come on, we can't let our first customers down. From the sounds of things we're gonna be needing the money soon."


	2. Chapter 2

Heres Chapter 2! P3P/P3/P4 belongs to atlus!

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It had been a quiet day so far. Mitsuru and Yukari came to visit me while the guys went grocery shopping and we'd just finished a pretty sizable lunch of fried tofu, rice balls, and miso soup. I insisted on cooking that day and wouldn't take no for an answer. It was about one of the only things I could still manage to do around the house the way I was, and I was also happy to have some company around. SEES had fallen out of contact for the most part for a while there after high school, but once word got out that Shinji and I were starting a business and a family, things slowly got better. Everyone made an effort to visit each other more often and to not let post-Dark Hour life get too in the way anymore. It was good to see Shinji socialize with someone other than Koromaru or myself too. The guys all had a rivalry of sorts back at the dorm in those days and it really did make me happy to see things get patched up and to see them hanging out together again. I swear, Shinji would be a complete hermit if I didn't drag him around with me from time to time into the outside world.

With a slight inward smile at the thought of him, I gathered up the lunch dishes from the table. There sure were a lot of them this time. My appetite hadn't been as bizarre over the last few months like most woman's tend to be, but it still remained as hefty as it ever was back in high school. "Good thing Shinji's so health conscious, or else I'd be as big as a house!" I laughed to myself as I got up from the table with a rub and a pat of my large, round stomach, while I made my way over to the kitchen to start the dishes. "Damn...it's really a pain trying to get around these days. Being pregnant is tiring business." I grabbed a small towel from drawer, leaning against the counter top and laughing heartily. It took a few seconds to regain my breath, but before I could get to the task at hand, Yukari grabbed me by the arm and hauled me off towards the door. It seemed her and Mitsuru had something planned without my knowledge.

"Hey! Where are we going and why can't I just stay home?" I whined and pleaded as I was dragged, waddling out of the house , with Mitsuru leading the way to the car."I'm tired." I groaned, having no choice but to snatch up my jacket on the way past the door and subject myself to whatever plan the girls had in mind. With one hand free, I tried getting my jacket on while we moved, but had a hard time getting it over the pregnant bulk of my stomach. I wrote it off as a loss and just let the jacket hang there until Yukari's iron grip on my arm was let go. It wasn't cold enough that day to really need a jacket anyhow. "Come on guys...why are you dragging me around? I have a hard time moving as it is." I pleaded with them once again but with no luck.

"Because, Aragaki," Mitsuru turned around to look at me with one of her typical stern glares. She tended to only call me by my last name anymore when I was being stubborn, like a mother letting her child know when she was being serious. "you've been working yourself too hard and it's not a good idea in your state. We're going out. My treat." She didn't even miss a beat as she turned back towards the car with a firm nod, making sure I knew that there was no getting out of the situation. It's not like I would have been capable of a hasty retreat anyway, but when Mitsuru's driver opened the door for us with a polite gesture, I'm not sure if I even wanted to get away anymore. Just thinking about it..If Mitsuru Kirijo was treating us to a day out it had to be good and I'd be a fool to turn it down.

First we partook of a guilty pleasure Yukari insisted we all join in on; clothes shopping. Even though it was an activity I was wholly unaccustomed to, I managed to find a cute skirt that I just couldn't pass up no matter how much I resisted. It wouldn't fit until after the baby unfortunately, but the sale was just too tempting. Besides...I had the feeling that I wasn't going to be like that much longer anyway. It took a good deal of effort, but I managed to push away the discomfort that kept nagging at me periodically as we strolled along. I didn't want to ruin the fun we were having. Even Mitsuru, head of the Kirijo Group and queen of all things serious, was laughing and joking right there along with us. It seemed that her arranged marriage we'd all thought would be a bad idea had actually turned out rather well. It was nice to see her so relieved for once. Then there was Yukari and Junpei too. They'd gotten together during our last year of high school and were surprisingly still together. I always thought they would be great like that though with all their incessant bickering back then. Turns out living through the end of the world can really bring people together. With all of us SEES members that had paired off in one way or another, I found it a surprise that Shinjiro and I were the first to start a family after all this time. The fearless leader and the foul mouthed street punk...who would have guessed it? Although we did get up to more than our fair share of the kind of trouble that got us where we were. Our poor dorm mates had all unintentionally walked in on enough occasions to vouch for that, I guess.

As we proceeded to the nail salon, we continued reminiscing about our times in SEES and caught up on everything we'd missed in others lives. Turns out we all missed quite a bit over the last four years. I spent most of my time these days hanging out with Shinji, who wasn't much of a conversationalist even at the best of times, so it was nice to have a bit of girl talk for once. With the business and a marriage, I spent most of my time in the kitchen with my hands in either a dish sink or a mixing bowl, so having my nails done for the first time was a welcome and relaxing experience. It would have been more relaxing though if my stomach was able to calm down. It was difficult, but I tried to pass it off and keep still while the woman sitting across from me worked on painting my nails. She was using a beautiful blue that I happened to like quite a lot. She really was doing a fantastic job too. Mitsuru recommended the place very highly, and she did not disappoint. The girls and I continued chatting and gossiping, but things were quickly starting to get very uncomfortable. I tried to stifle a grimace and a groan, but the woman across from me noticed, pausing her work on my left hand and looking up with concern. "I'm sorry, miss. Am I hurting you?" She asked kindly as she capped the bottle of nail polish and place it on the table.

"No. It's not...you...ngh..." I told her, cringing when the discomfort I had initially dismissed as the baby kicking began to pick up in frequency and intensity. My unpainted hand instinctively went to my stomach as if to try and ease the pain that radiated through my body in waves. Oh no...why did this have to start while we were out? Shinji would want to be around for this. He was always so protective of the baby and I that it would probably drive him crazy not being there the instant I noticed any changes. Sometimes when we were home he would jump at even the slightest kick. It was the only thing that got him nervous, and even though he was usually a real hard-ass, when it came to his child he was just a big softie.

"Hey Minako, are you okay?" Yukari raised her head and asked, looking over from the seat next to me where she was getting her toes done. Seeing the strained look on my face, she sat bolt upright and immediately grabbed for her purse. "Oh crap...you think it's..?" she began rummaging around for her phone. "Want us to call Shinjiro-senpai for you?" The small commotion was beginning to attract some attention. Not only Mitsuru, but some of the other patrons began looking over at the unfolding scene.

"Yes...please...call Shinji for me. Ah, hell..." I groaned and shifted around in my seat. I didn't care about only having one hand done or the smudges of blue now all over my shirt and hands, I just wanted Shinji around and I wanted this all to be over. It took forever to get to this point, but now that it was happening I was frankly scared shitless. I let Yukari call Shinji for me because I couldn't think straight enough to make it to the coat rack to get my own phone.

"Hey. Yeah. Shinjiro-senpai? It's Yukari. Look, it's about Minako. The ba-" She didn't even get half of the word 'baby' out of her mouth before he shouted down the phone at her, making her recoil from the phone a bit and rub at her ear. "Jeez...Yeah. Takiyama street nail salon. Uh huh. You need to get here quick. She-" Once again, Shinji cut her off, this time by hanging up the phone. He was out with Akihiko and Junpei at the grocery store so it would take at least a few minutes for him to come get me. I almost felt sorry for the others too, because I knew how Shinji's driving could get when his mind was occupied elsewhere. It was frightening to think of just what it would be like in this situation though.

The next few minutes went by in a haze of pain and questioning as the staff all crowded around trying to help me out. The only thing that drew their attention away for even a moment was the squealing of tires outside the salon and the slamming of a car door as Shinji dashed out of the vehicle and came barreling through the front door. He looked around for a few seconds, dark eyes flashing from behind long wisps of hair, before he spotted me and rushed over, panting and coughing. "Damn it. I'm such an idiot." He cursed himself as he picked me up without regard to anyone or anything else around him and started carrying me back towards the door. "I knew I shouldn't have gone out today. Tch...look at you. Leave you alone for a couple of hours and here you go having the damned kid without me." Shinji grumbled and carted me out of the salon like a giant sack of flour, leaving the others staring behind us in stunned silence. Now there was a scene that the people there that day were bound to remember for quite a while.

When we made it out to the car which was hastily parked straddling the curb, Shinji set me down by the passenger side as Junpei, Akihiko, and himself unloaded a portion of the groceries out of the back seat to give me room to lay down. They'd really picked up a lot at the store that day. The guys helped me into the car while Shinji ran around to the other side, jumping into the driver's seat and hurriedly buckling himself in. The guys picked up the groceries from the ground after I was safely inside and I could hear Shinji cursing as he fumbled with the keys in the ignition. Before they got the chance to load the bags back into the car though, Shinji drove off with a squeal of tires as the car bumped down from the curb and took off down the street. The guys were left standing there speechless with armfuls of our groceries and I could see their confused faces out the back window as we drove off like a shot towards the hospital.

Hours later, I was heavily sedated in the delivery room and the others, who had finally caught up with us, waited outside in the lobby, trying to alternately comfort Shinji and dodge his irritated verbal attacks. It was just like the old days when we all shared a dorm together and they kept trying to talk to him. I remember Akihiko and myself being the only people that could say anything to him and stand the chance of surviving, although he'd still even get moody with us on occasion. This time was different though. The doctors were terrified of him but still wouldn't allow anyone back into the room while they checked up on me. This left Shinji hovering in the corner more edgy and nervous than he'd ever been in his life. I felt sorry for whatever poor sap got too close. Through my grogginess I could hear their exchanges outside the door as my pain-addled exhaustion took me in and out of sleep. The next time I opened my eyes, however, I was woken up by a terrible, gut wrenching agony that I hoped to hell would be the last. The doctors luckily seemed to think so too and finally allowed Shinji back into the room if he promised to keep his mouth under control this time. He behaved admirably throughout the entire ordeal, even putting aside his immense distaste in hospitals so he could be right there when it all happened.

The time passed with high stress and shouting voices until we were all quieted by a tiny, pink, infant wailing at the top of it's brand new lungs as it was hurried across the room in careful hands to be washed and bundled up safely. I was so relieved that the whole painful episode was finally over, that I nearly didn't notice the look on Shinji's face. I blushed and stammered an apology when I glanced over and realized I had his hand clenched in a vice-like grip so tight it looked like he was about ready to pass out. His teeth were gritting and his eyes were beginning to waver, but he still kept quiet. I let his hand go with a laugh and we both smiled sheepishly in exhaustion, sharing a quick kiss as our friends were let into the room just in time to see the baby brought back over.

"Congratulations, you two. It's a girl." The doctor said as he carried her our way.

Before he could hand her off to anyone else though, Shinji was right there to take her. He looked awkward trying to maneuver his arms into the right position to hold such a tiny, fragile creature, but I knew how determined he could get when he set his mind to something. The whole scene was so charming and tooth achingly sweet that I thought my heart would burst in my chest from watching it. Shinji seemed almost like an entirely different person when he held our daughter for the first time; not bad tempered, rude, or intimidating anymore, but a father, plain and simple. Our friends crowded around us at the bed as Shinji finally handed the child over to me carefully. It was the most surreal experience of my life, having a child. Even fighting in Tartarus and being drawn into a battle with Nyx to stop the end of the world had nothing on the feeling of our daughter's tiny body in my arms and her warmth against my chest. I couldn't help it when the tears began trickling down my face, even though I was smiling so much it hurt. I know they all teased me about liking him years ago, but there really was no one else I'd rather have experienced this with. We'd both been through so much together and it moved me to tears knowing we finally had something to show for it. I kissed our daughter's peach-fuzz head and hugged her close.

Shinji took the baby for a second while I wiped my face and he held her up in front of him, unable to refrain from smiling when she opened her eyes for the very first time. He looked her straight in the face and laughed openly as the baby's little arms escaped the bundle and reached out towards him. She gurgled and cooed at him with her quiet new voice and Shinji just shook his head with a slight, knowing smile. "Yeah, you're gonna be just like your mother, huh? I'm gonna have to watch out for you then 'cause you're gonna be a real handful."


	3. Chapter 3

Final chapter!

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"Mommy! Daddy!" I could just barely hear shouting on the edges of my consciousness but couldn't tell whether it was still a dream or if it was actually being said aloud. What I definitely couldn't hear were the tiny footsteps thundering down the hall at breakneck pace and the bedroom door flying open with a flourish. "Mommy! Daddy! IT'S SNOWING!" I most certainly wasn't prepared for the four year old girl leaping onto the bed, throwing herself at us like a hyperactive flying squirrel and landing square on top of us as we slept. "Wake up! It's snowing!" She squealed in excitement, bouncing around and grabbing at the covers.

"What the-?! Ouch!" Shinji shouted, startled awake by the sudden impact. Waking him up in the mornings when we didn't have work was difficult even for me, but being pounced on by a small child was enough to make even the most stubborn of people wake up instantly. "Keiko, what the heck? What were you thinking?" Shinji scowled, propping himself up on his elbows and looking our daughter in the face. Even after having settled down long ago, he was still capable of giving someone a look so grim as to make them want to wither away or run. The young girl stopped bouncing around, her excited grin drooping into the most adorable frown as she faced her father's icy stare. The showdown was on. I'd seen this sort of scene a good many times; the exuberant child versus the hardened ex street urchin. I had my bets on Keiko in the end. She was far too adorable to turn down at times and despite being reluctant to admit it, Shinji really was a big softie at heart.

Her little shoulders slumped dejectedly as she turned her face downward. "But daddy...It's snowing... I wanna go play outside." She pouted and pleaded. "Can we go to the shrine today? Can we, daddy? Please..." She looked back up, chancing a hopeful smile. Little Keiko had her fathers looks; the dusty brown hair, the inviting smile, and the sort of deep colored eyes that could either charm or curse with equal gravity. She had my temperament and personality though, and it was because of that that Shinji never truly had the will to say no to her when she set her mind to something. She was his little girl and he could no longer stay mad at her than he could at me, which wasn't very long at all. "Ugh..." Shinji groaned in defeat, covering his tired face with his arms and rolling back over under the covers. "I don't know...Just ask your mother." He curled up next to me with another tired groan. I could definitely share the sentiment. Yesterday was a busy day and we hadn't gotten to bed until quite late into the evening.

I could feel the warmth of his body nestled against mine under the heavy blanket and I wanted nothing more than to crawl back in with him and sleep for hours, but that chance was foiled when Keiko turned her sweet little face towards me. "Can we, mommy? Please!" She gripped the blanket tightly and stared at me with wide, pleading eyes. We didn't have any work scheduled today, so there was no real reason why we couldn't take her to the shrine. It was the first snowfall of the year as well and she had yet to experience many of those at her age. As comfortable and tired as I was, the thought of seeing Keiko so happy was enough to persuade me to give in. I reached over, grabbed Shinji's shoulder and shook him gently. "Come on, hun. I guess we're going to the shrine today." He made some sort of indeterminate sound and I flopped over, hugging him as Keiko squealed with joy before bounding out of our room and away down the hall like a shot.

Shinji pulled the covers down just enough so that his eyes peeked over the edge and he looked at me with a mock glare. "Why'd you have to go and do that for, huh? It's cold..." It was adorable and I couldn't help it when a smile began making its way across my face. He sounded just like Keiko when she pouted at me for not getting her way. She really was his little girl and it showed through at times when they both were after something. "I was gonna send her off with Aigis for the day and make you breakfast..." his eyes peeking out from under the covers suddenly got a mischievous glint to them. "...don't I always make you something the morning after?" With a quick laugh and a wink he ducked his head back under the covers, hiding from the smack I tried to give him. Cheeky bastard!

I chased him under and we wrestled for what must have been a few minutes, getting a little carried away with ourselves and forgetting about the time, because we could hear a tiny voice shouting in the hallway. "Mommy! Daddy! Hurry up! Stop fighting, I wanna go play!" The footsteps then took off back down the hall away from us. She wasn't going to let up, was she? With a kiss to signal our truce, Shinji and I got up and got dressed for the outside before heading into the living room to catch up with Keiko. Shinji's trusty old black hat that he wore back when we first met had long since died, so I'd made him a new one just like it even though I always thought he looked better without it on. I donned the scarf he bought me the week before and made sure Keiko was all bundled up while Shinji got the dog ready to go. He was one of Koromaru's puppies that we kept after old Koro-chan himself died the year before.

We went out that day to the shrine, the four of us, as a family; the kind of family that neither Shinji nor I got to experience growing up which was why we took such care to never miss a moment now. We did our best to make sure Keiko had the kind of life we both fought so hard to protect ten years ago when we were still kids ourselves. Thinking about it all, I could notice Shinji take something out of his pocket, turning it over in his hand and sighing as the snow fell around us in giant crystalline flakes. The old pocket watch was broken and hadn't worked since those days way back then, but he still kept it with him for the memories of how being with one another had saved both our lives. I kept the watch he'd given me as well; the old leather of the strap wearing thin but the watch itself still keeping time as it had on that cold night when he'd confessed his love at the shrine ten years ago. We looked each other in the eyes and smiled with all the fond memories shared together over the years, stealing a kiss as our daughter ran on ahead of us, playing joyfully where we'd once been so happy as well.

"Now this...this is how it should be..." Shinji whispered to me with a faint smile and a gentle squeeze of my hand.

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*tear* I cried while writing this T^T..

Well this is it the finale!

Next kind of story im writing is AkihikoxMinako! My second favorite couple in P3P!

Jsut gotta plan it out...*sighs*

See you soon! (send me cookies and i'll post faster! :P)

Katkat OUT!


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